Sunday 5 October 2014

Farewell To The Toyota Crown Cabs

Comfort Toyota Crown Cab

It was the end of road for the Toyota Crown cabs in Singapore, when its last batch officially walked into history in September 2014. 

Debuted since 1982, the Toyota Crown cabs were once one of the most common cabs on Singapore roads in early 90's to 2014. 

There were 11 668 cabs running on Singapore roads by 1985, shared by the Singapore Commuters, NTUC-Comfort, Singapore Airport Bus Services (SABS) and Singapore Bus Services (SBS) cabs. 

NTUC-Comfort continued to own the largest cabs fleet, with almost 6 300 cars, whereas there were only 300 cabs under SABS. 

SBS Cab

SBS cabs, a new player joining the market just two years earlier, launched their Toyota Corona cabs in white and red colors, the same signature colors used or their SBS buses.

Yellow Top Cab

In 1995, CityCab was formed by the merging of SABS, SBS cabs and Singapore Commuters. 

Boon Lay Garden Radio Taxi Service

Sembawang Hill Estate Radio Taxi Service

The Radio Taxi Service had been present since 1950's, but it was never popular with the public due to its unreliability.  

By the late 1980's, there was more than a dozen private radiophone taxi organisations spread all over Singapore. Most had ceased operations by today, such as the Beach Road Radio Taxi Service (Jalan Selaseh), Chip Bee Radio Taxi Service (Upper Bukit Timah Road) and Upper Thomson Radio Taxi Service.

Only a handful still exists still today. They are the Sembawang Hill Estate Radio Taxi Service (Jalan Leban), Boon Lay Garden Radio Taxi Service (Boon Lay Place) and Singapore Radio Taxi Service (Ulu Pandan Road).